The Tide
by CoffeeGroundedInk
Summary: Haku's made a home in the Konoha Juvenile Ward, promising to look after its patients. But can he handle Gaara and all the obstacles in his way in search for his purpose in life?


**The Tide**

Konoha Juvenile Ward...has a nice ring to it am I right? Yeah, about as nice as the beeping on a microwave when your food is done or the bell that signals you're late to class…or a psychology session. When you're here for a while, or in my case three years, it starts to become home. Six years ago I had a normal home that was destroyed when my father lost his mind, rambling about how my mother and I were contaminated. She was shot right in front of me; I was almost drowned in an attempt to 'cleanse me.' Long story short, I survived but that's something I don't talk about unless it's to my psychologist—Iruka.

I ended up in town freezing and completely out if it. A man named Zabuza found me and took me in, his only requirement was that I become a thief. Being born as an honest, innocent farmer kid I could never imagine stealing food or hotwiring a car, but as long as I stayed out of those poor orphanages and was with Zabuza I was fine. I was the perfect partner for him because of my small size and age. I was efficient and fast, before anyone would realize their jewelry or credit card was missing Zabuza and I were long gone. He said he would give me a real challenge when I got older, no one could catch us!

But guess what?

I got caught and was placed in an orphanage, as for my friend I don't know what became of him. I was then moved to this loony bin after one of my many breakout attempts ended with a sewing needle lodged into my caretaker's arm.

I like it much better in the ward than the crowded orphanages, only certain people got into the particular mental house I lived in. This was the oldest ward and most private in the city, if you're wealthy like the Hyugas or had 'special talents' like myself you came here. I've been here the longest in my age group, although I can be quite shy I make it my personal duty to make sure every patient is comfortable here. Iruka says I like to attach myself to things, I guess it's true because Naruto made a similar comment last week. Naruto arrived shortly after me, the first thing he said...well, yelled to me was "are you a boy or a girl!?" After my ears...and my pride recovered we became close friends. He was also moved here after orphanages didn't work out due to his hyperactivity and pranks; even his bright, orange hoodie displayed his personality.

Sasuke came next, his entire family was brutally murdered, his brother Itachi is a psychiatrist to the more violent patients on the upper floor. They're the emo divas of the ward. Shikamaru's a drug addict who lives across the hall from his best friend Choji who's a compulsive eater; they both love to complain over the smallest things. Kiba has anger problems, somehow he managed to smuggle his dog Akamaru in and no one said anything. You never, ever...ever want to get someone angry when they already had anger issues. Hinata Hyuga comes from a wealthy family, she once had an anxiety attack, I never want to see someone go through that again; her cousin is here as well. Lastly, there's Ino who starves herself and Sakura the cutter. They can all be a headache sometimes but I couldn't enjoy my new home without them.

Speaking of residents we were having two new ones coming in tonight, I was in the lounge room reading a shojo that I borrowed from Sakura. It didn't help the occasional "hey guuuurl" thrown at me every now and then from almost every patient, but it was so much better than the mindless violence Naruto and the guys read. The lounge room was nothing special, there was an old TV with a vhs, two dingy yet soft, green couches, a few fold up chairs and tables, board games and a Nintendo 64. Whoever painted the place seemed to had nursery school in mind, the walls were covered in clouds with a single rainbow over a faded yellow background. Nurse Anko came in to get me; whenever new patients come I show them around. It's not just because the staff is lazy but it gives me purpose here.

Shikamaru looked up from his game of chess with a frustrated Kiba, "ugh, not more people. There's too many in our age group as it is and that means more work for group therapy."

God forbid that Shikamaru actually did something besides daydream or get high.

"So, when do we get to see the new guys?" Naruto shouted as he hung upside down on the couch next to the sleeping cocoon-man named Shino.

Anko grinned at them all, "oh look it's past your bedtimes," she confirmed with a nonexistent watch on her wrist, "looks like I'm going to have to give you guys a shot to help you sleep faster!"

With that threat everyone scurried to their rooms dragging Shino along, there was nothing more frightening than Nurse Anko with a needle. I ignored her evil cackling and shook my head. She told me to be careful of the new patients and that they were not like us—I had seen and did all kinds of things in my short time on Earth, I was sure these new guys were pretty stable. She patted me on the back with a good luck and left as I headed down to the first floor where patients and families checked in.

Kakashi, guard and romance novel collector, was just finishing waving them down with a metal detector when I arrived. A pretty, blonde girl who looked to be a few years older than me was saying her goodbyes to our new guests, I stood back and observed the two boys. I cursed myself for my choice of clothing, I was in a pink shirt with white pajama pants and I left my long, dark hair down since the weather was cool. God, I was girlier than the girls, all I need is a bra...

Kakashi brought them over and I shyly looked down at my black slippers…Anko was right in saying these guys were intimidating. I could tell by the tall one's smug face and the shorter's glare that they were going to be here for a while. The taller one wolf whistled at me, my head snapped up and I arched an eyebrow. This guy was going to bring out my asshole side, although the pink shirt didn't help my manhood. The cat ears hat and dark, purple make-up didn't seem to hurt his, he screamed arrogance. His red headed brother reminded me of those short, angry characters drawn in manga minus the cute quirks. Ugh, I needed to remind Sakura to keep her manga books away from me. Gaara looked like he hadn't slept in years. He wore a plain black shirt and baggy, black pants with a white belt. He also had a tattoo on his forehead...ouch.

Kakashi smirked, "Gaara and Kankuro," he pointed to the latter, "this is Haku our longtime resident. He will show you to your rooms and will help you in getting to know the grounds, schedules and any rules that you might have missed five minutes ago…any questions just feel free to ask him. It is late now so I trust you to get these two to where they need to go, yes?"

He didn't even wait for my reply as he left, the lazy jerk. Kankuro had a look that resembled shock and disgust for hitting on me. I shared a similar face when he asked if there were any hot girls around here. Gaara didn't say a word which I was thankful for, there was this heavy aura about him, I was nervous as hell as he walked behind me. Kankuro did all the talking which was mostly negative comments about my strange, little home to fill the awkward silence. Kankuro was three doors down rooming with Shikamaru while his brother was rooming alone right across from me. You only had a room to yourself if you have a lot of money or you caused a lot trouble. I told them I'll be showing them around starting tomorrow, I made sure to lock my door before I jumped into bed thinking of the color red.


End file.
